‘Our airwaves are polluted’

Pioneer National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Director- General Dr. Tom Adaba has decried what he calls the mudslinging and hate messages being aired on radio and television. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME examines what this portends for Nigeria’s democratic growth.

Let the truth be told, we have simply behaved as if there is no tomorrow for Nigeria. The campaigns or advertisements of mudslinging and derision which we have allowed to appear on the screens have not been helpful to the cause of this nation. It has indeed helped to divide us as a people.”

That was the view of pioneer Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Dr. Tom Adaba on the increasing spate of electoral violence and hate messages. In his article, Presidential elections and broadcast media, Adaba said the National Broacasting code has many ample provisions that take care of election matters. They include Sections 4.2.2, 5.1.6, 5.2.5, 5.2.7A, 5.3.6A, among others, that serve as guide to broadcasters especially.

But, there seems to be total disregard of these provisions in what critics described as unbridled impunity that has become the order of the day.

Some leading Nigerian artistes have condemned the increasing spread of hate messages on some broadcast media across the country describing them as dirty and poisonous to the mind. They said the content of most of the ads and documentaries is not only barbaric as it insults the aggregation of the intelligence of Nigerians, but also reduces media campaigns into circus shows and falsehood peddling.

Former Deputy Editor The Guardian, playwright and activist, Mr. Ben Tomoloju said the idea of manipulating the order of things to an undue advantage marked the beginning of what has now turned serious cases of mudslinging and outright media war.

“My critical observation began not a few months ago, but long before the whistle was blown for campaigns to begin. By a certain proxy arrangement TAN was treating Nigerians to some promos projecting the achievements of President Jonathan. Some of us tolerated it because it subsisted on the basis of the advertiser’s fundamental human rights, including the freedom of expression and the right to hold opinions. But the enlightened public knew, as far back as that time, that the real campaign had started by proxy, giving an undue advantage to a contender over the others. That idea of manipulating the order of things to an undue advantage marked the beginning of what has now turned serious cases of mudslinging and outright media war.

“You now have radio and television stations whose political partisanship is all too obvious to members of the public. The level of acerbity of these ads and documentaries is so high that it generally insults the aggregation of the intelligence of Nigerians. While some elements heighten the quality of political discourse, a lot of charlatans, some with a pedigree of deceivers and betrayers, reduce media campaign into circus shows and falsehood peddling,” he said.

The author of Askari wondered why the grand design against the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega and the gang-up against the use of card reader by some political parties barely few weeks to election.

“Do we ever learn from history? Do we remember June 12, 1993 and its tragic fall-out? Do we remember the orchestrated court cases? Do we remember what became of Nigeria when arbitrary exercise of power exerted itself over Professor Humphrey Nwosu’s electoral umpireship?….People should learn from history,” he said.

According to him,

many of the ads and documentaries particularly those designed to attack personalities rather than sell party manifestoes were not only insulting but also offensive to Nigerians. ‘You wonder how the Nigerian media has come so low that it has become a turf of political brigandage. There are too many examples that I consider offensive, but the one that got me most incensed is the one in which a certain politician in one of the mushroom parties declared on television that his party rejected the idea of using card-readers for the forthcoming elections. That broadcast was followed immediately by a similar position expressed by the ruling People’s Democratic Party. I strongly believe that this position is retrogressive, anti-intellectual and, therefore counterproductive.’

On whether if the broadcast takes into cognisance the cultural and religious sensibilities of Nigerians, he said: “We are talking about advancement, locating ourselves squarely in the 21st century and moving forth in a civilising process. Civilisation is about cultural advancement, refinement and sophistication. If you say that you are working towards a situation whereby young Nigerians of today will take us to the moon in the foreseeable future and you still nurse such a great phobia for an ordinary card-reader, then your technological projection is suspect. And it borders on deceit. Every religion frowns at deceit. In my Yoruba tradition, there is a proverb which translates thus: ‘Deity, if you cannot deliver me, just leave me the way you met me.’ The subtext is the abhorrence of an ambiguous adventure. What, for instance is the reason behind what is gradually becoming a grand design against and persecution of the INEC Chairman? Do we ever learn from history? Do we remember June 12, 1993 and its tragic fall-out? Do we remember the orchestrated court cases? Do we remember what became of Nigeria when arbitrary exercise of power exerted itself over Professor Humphrey Nwosu’s electoral umpireship?….People should learn from history.”

Former Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Tola Wewe described most of the broadcast as dirty, primitive and barbaric saying he refused to watch or listen to them any longer because of the inherent poisons in them. “I don’t want to absorb any poisonous propaganda,” he noted. To him the content of the broadcast run contrary to the people’s cultural values. “It’s not in our culture to lie. It’s not our culture to disrespect people. It’s not in our culture to torment. In fact, I found the broadcast very offensive… “I do not know what the broadcasting codes are. But, I do know that these documentaries and adverts are coming from uncivilised minds. And they portray us a nation that has refused to learn from history. It therefore, portends danger for democracy in our nation.”

Senior art lecturer at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Mr. Raqib Bashorun described some of the broadcast as mere fabrications and degrading of a nation like Nigeria. He said some of the video clips he saw on the social media too are not only disturbing, but too good to be true. “After all that I have seen, right now, I feel like many of them are just mere fabrications, others are so degrading of a nation such as Nigeria, I cannot but wonder if Nigerians no any better. Now, I try to console myself by thinking that all that I have seen and heard are nothing but mere ‘acting’, that our politicians (I hate to call them ‘leaders’, at best, they are ‘looters’, ‘actors’, ‘actresses’ and comedians,” he added.

Founder, Nigeria Democratic Report, Mr. Sanmi Falobi said the documentaries and ads are in bad taste as they are not issue-based. He blamed the abuses on failure of the commission and other relevant agencies to enforce the broadcasting regulations.

All Progressives Congress Presidential Organisation recently accused the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) of promoting electoral violence and hate messages by default. The organisation said following the inability of the two regulatory bodies to sanction erring radio, television, industry players and groups who continuously breached extant laws and regulations governing activities of the agencies, the two bodies were indirectly promoting violence and hate messages in the current political dispensation.

Section 3.1.2 of the NBC code states that “materials/statements likely to incite or encourage the commission of a crime or lead to public disorder shall not be broadcast.’ This is a breach which attracts severe penalty of suspension of licence or outright withdrawal of the licence of that station.

National Broadcasting Commission spokesperson, Mr. Awulu Salihu assured that the commission is working on the complaints and that very soon will announce its decision.